Selling in North Carolina

[CaliDave]

I seem to remember that selling a timeshare in NC.. was different than most places?

I am not using escrow and don't need title search.. so typically I use Time Travel Traders and they are inexpensive and do a great job. But I thought I read you needed to use an attorney?

 

[avad88]

There are some who will tell you that you must use a N.C. attorney, but a couple of months ago, we transferred one of our timeshares in OBX to our son without the use of an attorney at all.
I was once a legal secretary in Virgina so I'm somewhat familiar with the law, but was told by various people that only an attorney in NC. could handle the transfer. We own another timeshare there which was handled by a timeshare closing company in FL, so I knew that wasn't true.
NC does have a few quirks in its recording process, but I called the Register of Deeds in Dare County who sent me the requirements (paper has to be letter size, font no smaller than 10pt., etc. ) and fee schedule along with an Affidavit which you send to the tax office along with your checks. You can go to their website and obtain the tax affidavit and the girl working there was very helpful when I called to ask a question. I find their website very "user friendly" and have been able to do a quick title background check online in the past. I typed the deed, filled out the affidavit, had them both notarized, sent them and the check to the tax office and had everything back and recorded within 2 weeks.
Of course, I have a little background in these matters and we DID NOT need a title search since we were transferring to our son. If you need a title search, it is a different matter, but someone who prepares deeds for other states should be able to call the Clerk's Office and get all the needed information like I did.
Hope this helps.
Ava

 

[Dave H]

There are some who will tell you that you must use a N.C. attorney, but a couple of months ago, we transferred one of our timeshares in OBX to our son without the use of an attorney at all.
I was once a legal secretary in Virgina so I'm somewhat familiar with the law, but was told by various people that only an attorney in NC. could handle the transfer. We own another timeshare there which was handled by a timeshare closing company in FL, so I knew that wasn't true.
NC does have a few quirks in its recording process, but I called the Register of Deeds in Dare County who sent me the requirements (paper has to be letter size, font no smaller than 10pt., etc. ) and fee schedule along with an Affidavit which you send to the tax office along with your checks. You can go to their website and obtain the tax affidavit and the girl working there was very helpful when I called to ask a question. I find their website very "user friendly" and have been able to do a quick title background check online in the past. I typed the deed, filled out the affidavit, had them both notarized, sent them and the check to the tax office and had everything back and recorded within 2 weeks.
Of course, I have a little background in these matters and we DID NOT need a title search since we were transferring to our son. If you need a title search, it is a different matter, but someone who prepares deeds for other states should be able to call the Clerk's Office and get all the needed information like I did.
Hope this helps.
Ava

As a party to the transaction, you can prepare your own deed. To prepare them for others in North Carolina is the practice of law as defined by the Bar and the State Supreme Court.

While a FL company might have done the work for you, are you sure a NC attorney did not prepare your deed?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Dave, you can use Clark Kessel's closing services. He is at Lake Lure and charges very low fees. But ttt here on TUG can also do it, much cheaper.

The last time I sold a Foxrun week (happened to be a 26), the guy who bought it did use an attorney, but I don't know if he thought it was required, but it really wasn't. Clark is a Realtor, not an attorney, but maybe they have an attorney who signs the docs. I don't know for sure.

 

[Carolinian]

As a party to the transaction, you can prepare your own deed. To prepare them for others in North Carolina is the practice of law as defined by the Bar and the State Supreme Court.

While a FL company might have done the work for you, are you sure a NC attorney did not prepare your deed?

The only Fla. closing company I am aware of that complies with state law in NC and other states as to having a duly licensed attorney in that state prepare the deed is PCS Holdings.

While a party to the transaction, either a buyer or seller, is permitted to prepare the documents, no third party other than a duly licensed NC attorney is allowed to do so. If an unlicensed third party does so, they are committing the criminal offense of unlicensed practice of law in NC.

The real danger is that there are quirks in the law of deed preparation (and the recording requirements is NOT what I am talking about) that many outside attorneys would miss. I have seen far too many deeds that have been recorded for timeshares that are void on their face even though they are recorded. The Register of Deeds only checks a few things, mostly related to proper notarization, and their recording the deed does NOT make it valid.

Indeed, in any state, I would seek out a qualified local attorney to prepare the deed for any timeshare I was buying. There may well be similar quirks in the laws of other states that the out of state closing companies that use either laymen or an attorney from a different state simply would not catch. PCS Holdings seems to be the exception among these timeshare closing companies that does get properly qualified local attornies to prepare deeds.

I am aware that as a result of a complaint from a timeshare resort over void deeds from several of these timeshare closing companies that use laymen, the NC State Bar has issued letters of warning to a number of those companies. One HOA I know of spent thousands of dollars on a local attorney to help clean up some of these messes (something that actually should have been paid for by the individual owners involved not the HOA, but that is another matter).

 

[Carolinian]

Dave, you can use Clark Kessel's closing services. He is at Lake Lure and charges very low fees. But ttt here on TUG can also do it, much cheaper.

The last time I sold a Foxrun week (happened to be a 26), the guy who bought it did use an attorney, but I don't know if he thought it was required, but it really wasn't. Clark is a Realtor, not an attorney, but maybe they have an attorney who signs the docs. I don't know for sure.

A North Carolina realtor is certainly going to know the law and will not be preparing the deeds himself. The timeshare specialist realtor on the OBX has a contract with a local attorney on the OBX who prepares all of their deeds, and I would bet that Kessel does the same.

 

[e.bram]

Prepare? Photocopy the deed and make few changes. (date ,grantor, grantee and ref. page)

 

[avad88]

As a party to the transaction, you can prepare your own deed. To prepare them for others in North Carolina is the practice of law as defined by the Bar and the State Supreme Court.

While a FL company might have done the work for you, are you sure a NC attorney did not prepare your deed?

So sorry everyone--I stand corrected. Upon closer examination of our deed, a Fl company handled the closing (Timeshare Closing Services of Orlando) and prepared the deed, but the seller signed a power of attorney to the timeshare closing company (which they recorded with the deed), so they got around the NC law by "being" the seller via the power of attorney. I assume that is how the out of state timeshare closing companies get around the NC law--they have the sellers transfer the property to them and then they transfer it to the new buyer--therefore the deed is prepared by the seller of record.
Thanks for teaching me something, Tuggers!
Ava

 

[Carolinian]

I don't think this power of attorney gambit will cut it. For starters, it creates a conflict of interest. For another, being able to sign for another is a very different thing from being able to prepare documents for another.

Also a power of attorney does NOT transfer the property to anyone. It just allows one person to legally sign for another, or perhaps perform other acts.

While I have not looked up the law in this particular instance, I saw one case back when I practiced law in NC that had a lot of simularities. A corporation got sued. The sole shareholder, who was also sole director and company president tried initially to represent the corporation saying it was representing himself in the lawsuit but the judge disallowed it and required him to get an attorney. There was strong case law to back up the judge's position. Being able to represent yourself in a legal matter in North Carolina is construed very strictly.

If a timeshare seller conveyed title to an individual who worked for or owned the closing company, that individual could likely prepare that deed and then one out to a buyer. If it is transfered to a corporation or other entity rather than a physical person, they cannot do that, however. And again a POA is NOT a deed and does not transfer property.

So sorry everyone--I stand corrected. Upon closer examination of our deed, a Fl company handled the closing (Timeshare Closing Services of Orlando) and prepared the deed, but the seller signed a power of attorney to the timeshare closing company (which they recorded with the deed), so they got around the NC law by "being" the seller via the power of attorney. I assume that is how the out of state timeshare closing companies get around the NC law--they have the sellers transfer the property to them and then they transfer it to the new buyer--therefore the deed is prepared by the seller of record.
Thanks for teaching me something, Tuggers!
Ava

 

[JudyS]

Dave, you can use Clark Kessel's closing services. ... Clark is a Realtor, not an attorney, but maybe they have an attorney who signs the docs. I don't know for sure.

I've bought from Clark several times, and yes, he has an attorney review and sign off on the documents. Last I heard, the attorney only charged about $50 for that. I'm not sure Clark handles transfers from resorts other than Fairfield Mountains, though.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I've bought from Clark several times, and yes, he has an attorney review and sign off on the documents. Last I heard, the attorney only charged about $50 for that. I'm not sure Clark handles transfers from resorts other than Fairfield Mountains, though.

Calidave owns at Foxrun, so Clark would surely be able to handle it.

 

[JudyS]

Calidave owns at Foxrun, so Clark would surely be able to handle it.

Yes, absolutely. I think Foxrun is actually the biggest timeshare at Fairfield Mountains, so Clark handles lots of them. I didn't know that was where Calidave owned.

Using Clark for a Foxrun closing makes a lot of sense, as Clark will hand carry the documents and generally get the closing done very quickly.